St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-31
REALITY OR DELUsIoN.
A Curious Story of the Franco-Ger.
man War.
The Franctireur and the Lieutenant
"A Warming and a Vision.
Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press.
! During the Franco German war repre-
sented a leading English journal, which. by
the way. exchanged its reports with an
American paper of national prominence,
as war correspondent. Upon my arrival
in Germany soon after the declaration of
war | presented my credentials to the
proper authorities, and, after much delay,
was attached to the Royal Saxon army
corps, as brave body of warriors as
was ever gathered together for pur
poses of destruction and carnage. | fol-
lowed the fortunes of the gallant corps
through the fall campaign, and was with
them at the siege of Paris. 1t is unneces-
sary to pay tribute to the bravery of the
noble Saxon lads, who. after repelling the
savage attacks of the courageous enemy,
shared their scanty allowance of pea Sau-
! sage and rye bread with the haIf-starved
French guards who were fortunate enough
| to be captured.
As might be expected. my constant pres
enee at headquarters and my unvarnished
reports OF the dOingS of the corps secured
me the friendship of some of tile officers,
while others found it hard work TO conceal
! the pque excited by my letters. Among my
dearest friends and defenders was Lieut.
Baron Ludwig Won l. an adiutant
to one of the regiments attached
to the corps. 1t had been my good
| fortune to render a slight sery-
ice to the lieutenant during the opening
days of the war, and with an enthusiasm
which was inexplicable to me he defended
my every action, and let no opportunity pass
by to sound my praises. 1t was but natural
/ that such Observation-Disclosures challenged my
admiration, and soon our friendship had
ripened INTO an intimacy such as can only
| be established amid the surroundings In
which we were placed.
Nothing married these pleasant relations
| until Christmas eve, when a stray shell
from one of the forts struck the tent in
which the lieutenant and were celebrating
the great German holiday In q moment [
realized that he had been severely
wounded, while [ escaped unharmeu
An examination of the wound proved
that his life was in imminent
peril, and the staff surgeon concluded to
| send Won r. to his home in Saxony.
In pursuance of the doctors directions we
parted then and there, and the early morn
ing train bore my friend to the arms OF his
anxious family, while | continued my ex-
citing life among the Sanguine soldiery.
| The week following this incident was de-
void of interest. owing to the inactivity of
the French, but on the ninth day the forts
opened fire, and from whispered conversa-
tons at headquarters | CLEANED that the
morrow would see sangunary conflict.
In order to be prepared. | left the
tent of the most exposed Saxon out
post at O'Clock in the afternoon for
the purpose of preparing typographical
notes concerning the probable field of car
mage. My work was soon completed
Silence and solitude, interrupted at rare in
| tervals by the CHEEKY 'Qui vive?" of
the French outposts or the gruff ''Wer
da?" OF the German SentinelS tempted
ME to rest under a protecting shed, and
before l realized it had settled down to
little nap. When l awoke the darkness
told me that the evening had far advanced,
and, looking around. | saw that terrible
| snoWstornl had covered my tracks. Es-
cape was impossible. | knew not how to
reach my friends, and to fall in the hands
| OF the French meant disgrace and
perhaps dshonor. Making the best of an
ugly situation, drew my heavy fur over
coat closer around me, pulled my
cap over my ears and retreated once more
into the shed. Scarcely had l settled into
more comfortable position when | was
appalled,. Was it possible? Yes. there at
the rickety door Of the shed stood, real as
life, Lieut.. Won l., his right arm ex-
tended, his left hand on his sword belt. and
speaking in low and distinct whisper:
Beware of the Franctireurs!' Suddenly
as the apparitiOn appeared it vanished
Imagine my feelings; | cannot describe
them. l verify believe that my hair stood
upon end. n stupor followed this fear
and a trance-hke slumber. How long re-
manned in this condition l knew not at the
time, but well do | remember the awaken
ing from the trance. My nervous system
was completely derangpd, my hands
refused to do service; in fact, | had
not the strength to light match to
look at my watch. With groan | sank
| back upon my bed of snow. [ tried to
sleep, but in vain. All could do was to
think. Had | seen Ludwig Won l.. or his
spirit; the real man or phantom? At
last relief came. l could not be mistaken.
l heard the footsteps of small body of
men. They approached the shed. Yes,
but not with the steady tread of the soldier
Heavens! could it be the Franctireurs, those
bloodthirsty guerllas and hyenas of the
battle field? L tried to fortify myself for
an attack. l tried to arouse my physical
self.
Before | could arise or make noise the
door of the shed was roughly opened A
rough face showed itself. 1t was that of
the leader Of a noted guerilla band. The
Franctreur entered He approached
cooked a revolver and said with mock polite
ness, i'll broken German. Monsieur. pre-
pare to die" Making an effort to reach nv
own weapon, at this moment | was startled
by the words:
Not he, but your'
Looking up, L saw the palld and fright
ened face of the Franctireur and nv his
slde-could it be possible ?-Lieut. Won
l.. pointing pistol at the heart of the
assassin. The excitement proved too much
for my shattered nerves, and Just as | heard
the explosion OF a pistol l lost conscious
ness. When L revived it was o'clock in
the morning. BY my side stood Mai.
M, commander of the advanced out
posts, and detachment of Saxon infantry.
We'll done, my lad, " said the major. and
with that he pointed TO an object lying by
my sde covered with field blanket.
What dO you mean, major?" | INQUIRED.
family. not understanding his remark.
We'll. l mean that you have dispatched
the worst hound of guerrilla who ever
disgraced country
Like flash the mysterious apparition
presented itself to my mind, and. hastily
calling corporal l babe him extract the
bullet from the dead Franctireur's woind.
Then / produced my revolver and found
that not shot had been fired from it [
compared the bullets used by ME with that
extracted from the wound. They were of
different weight The mystery was un-
solved. Who had shot my enemy? The
battle predicted by the staff officers was not
fought on that day, and l was glad of it.
for the exciting scenes OF the previous night
llr..l,